Everyone's a Collector

I got my degree in Anthropology with an emphasis in Physical Anthropology. Which basically means many hours of looking at bones. That little bump on the inside of your ankle, that's your Medial Malleolus (that's probably the extent of what I remember).

Anyway, this article that ran over the weekend reminded me of when I visited the Hickam identification lab (then known as CILHI) way back when. The lab does the identification of all recovered remains of soldiers lost abroad. I'm not sure how things are setup now, but back then there was a series of about 6 tables each laid with the remains of what was thought to be a recovered soldier. Essentially, it's a big puzzle. Not only do you need to piece together the fractured remains, but once you do you need to look at the structural indicators on the bones and the overall body to help you identify (in general terms) who you are looking at. Male or Female? How old? What build/stature? etc. They also have a separate odontology department that helps more specifically identify remains when teeth are available. Pretty fascinating to see one of these labs in operation.

The one thing that really stands out in my mind though was not related to the actual identification process at all. Apparently HPD had uncovered a special little find when it had to remove an unstable older woman from her home. What they had found they turned over to the lab. The prize? Several sets of woman's pantyhose filled with patella. Patella is the proper name for your knee cap bones. There were probably between 20 or 30 patella in all. All neatly tied up and organized. Everyone assumed she unearthed them from a graveyard. But you have to wonder. I guess we all have hobbies, some more morbid than others.